As a result of the proliferation of mobile devices having access to the Internet and the vastly varying capabilities of these mobile devices, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has promulgated a Composite Capability/Preference Profile (CC/PP) standard enabling customization of web content based on the capabilities and user preferences of a recipient device. More specifically, according to the CC/PP standard, a profile identifying the capabilities and user preferences of a device is created. The profile may be provided to web content providers and used to customize the web content provided to the device. For example, the profile of a device may indicate that the display of the device is 320×200 pixels. As a result, the web content provider may reduce the size of, for example, an image such that the image fits the display of the device.
However, providing device profiles to the web content provider raises security and privacy issues. Many users may desire not to share at least some of the information contained in the device profile with web content providers. Thus, there is a need for a system and method for addressing these security and privacy concerns.
In addition, both the users of the devices and operators of locations in which the devices are present may desire to control the use, or non-use, of certain device capabilities. For example, a user may prefer that no audio content be provided to his or her device after 11:00 p.m. Likewise, the operator of a library may desire to prevent audio content from being played by devices present in the library. Thus, there remains a need for a system and method for controlling the use of the particular device capabilities.